The Dillon tribune., 1887-01-14
CHAPTER VI.
TIVE AWAKENING.

THE AWAKENING
T,,ora. emotions than he had felt before III
,,I bs life Of shallow aimlessncss stiEtci
ITar,.,, Clois bosom as he turned away from
n. door which Rachel Bond closed BEHIND
bcr viii, n decisive pgo:n,tness that choracd
veil with htr resolute conlpoauie during the
Interview.
mi, blow fell much more heavily than any
that had preceded it, because it descended
from the. towering height to which he had
ro:scd III, expectations of an ardent greeting
from loving girl, eagerly watching for bis
return. -.
As was to be expected from one OF his
nature. he forgot entirely his nominations
u,on the advisability of discardn2 her, and
th,. difficulty he experienced in devlsinS a
plan whereby this could he done easily ana
gracefully He only thought of himself as
the blarlelcss victim Of woman's fickleness.
The bitter things he had read and heard of
the seS's Inconsistency rose in his mind. as
acrid bile sometimes ascen.ls in ones throat.
"IIere," he said to himself, us an instance
of feminine perfidy equal to anything
that Byron ever sneered at. This glrl,
who was 50 proud to receive my at
tentions a little while ago, and who so
gladly accepted me for her promised hus-
band, now turns away at the slightest cloud
of disapproval falling upon me. And to
t.iak, too, how | have given her all my
heart, and lavished upon her love as deep
and true Us ever a man gave a woman"
! He stopped for a moment and gazed at the
old apple tree. under which they had stood
when
Their spirits rushed together at the meeting Of
their lips
But its rai!ne,t of odorous blossoms was
gone. Instead, it bore a load Of shapelcss,
sour ,lnriDencd fruit Instead of the freshly
spril!ging grass at its foot was now coarse
stubia. Instead of Tho dcicatcy sweet
breath Of violets and fruit blooms s2cntina
the evening air came the heavy, persistent
perfume Of tube roses and the nHlWkisl scent
Of gaudy peoples.
Bah, it smells like u funeral" he said, and
he turned away and walked slowly down the
hill And it is on2. Ny heart and all my
hope, lie buried ut the foot Of that old apple
tree"
1t had been suggested that much of the
sympathy We lavish upon martyrs is wanton
wa,t2, because to many minds, II not in fact
to AL. there is Il positive pleasure in consider
ones self Il martyr More absolute truth is
contained in this than appears at the iirst
blush. There are very few WHO do not roll
under their tongues as Il sweep nicis2l The be-
Ilet that their superior goodness on generos-
ity has brought them trouble and affection
from cnvious and wicked interiors;
so the honey that mingled with the gall
and h;ssop of Harry Glcn's humiliation was
the martyr fccln. thai his holi, 1t affections
ha'i Teen ruthessly tranlp!cl upon by q cold.
hearted woman. His lrsultory READINGS of
byron furnished his imagination with al! the
"cc'Nl suits and traprin~s necessary TO trick
himself OFT as IL melancholy hero.
On his way iol:le he had to pass the prin
clpal ho'cl IN the place. the front OF which,
on simmer evenings, WAS the Sarli, forum
for the discussion Of national politics and
local gossip. AS he approached quietly along
he ;5!;ssy walk, he overheard his own non,a
usfl lie stepped back into the shadow Of y
large maple and listened
'ies, seen him as he rot Off the trajn j."
said %cls Hathaway, big, fat, lazy, and the
most invetci;,tc i:lalc gossip in The vi)la~a
And he is looking mighty wc!-vcs, n,,yl,,
well | said to Tim HotEins, here. what a
wonderful constitution Harry Glen has, {, l,, !
sire, 10 stand the har,!srs of the G l.; so
&ri''
lie sarcasm was SO evident that IIar,vt,
hlood Settled. Tho Tim Eotki,s alluded to |
had been dubbed by Basil Wurn,s.t t!,a |
S;'ic ana Wit OF the village, apt apprpri,. |
,lou's aitfui aid" Re,i-hc,i,y,. solt.,n 4 |
aooE-fas"'i, round Of lcily and ly,up!,ii. ,f |
temperament, bis principal or>,,rntinu IN If, |
Nls TO play a fiddle in the s,a,,l; strjnrr barl
'H, IA the intervals Of Professional ,upnr..-
!en'S ut dances nll ri~ni1~, to i'll ono Of >,a
''HH '''H-hotton.cl cllairs in front Of III,